Former cop was "problem child" in Northboro department

NORTHBORO — A former police officer, under investigation for allegedly stealing more than $25,000 from the police union's bank account, had a long history of insubordination, falsifying reports and other problems within the Police Department, according to police documents.

Nathan W. Fiske Sr., 33, of Holden, resigned June 21 at the beginning of a disciplinary hearing with selectmen over the alleged misuse of union funds while he served as the group's president.

Timothy Connolly, spokesman for the Worcester district attorney's office, said this week the investigation into the alleged theft is ongoing. Detective Jeffrey R. Noel, elected to succeed Mr. Fiske as union president, said if the criminal investigation does not result in restitution being paid, a civil case will be filed.

Mr. Fiske could not be reached for comment. He was hired as a dispatcher in Northboro in 2004 and as a full-time patrolman in January 2007.

Police Chief Mark Leahy said the former patrolman was "a problem child."

According to internal affairs documents provided by the Police Department, after an incident in August 2012, Officer Fiske was charged with two counts of insubordination for failing, over a period of several days, to write a report and file criminal complaints against a person as he was instructed to; refusing to obey an order from a proper authority; and falsifying a record.

In the latter case, Officer Fiske used his authorization from when he was a dispatcher to access the Police Server system. There, he changed the status of a report from "larceny," which required a written report, to "aid to the public," with "spoken to" as the action taken.

According to the internal affairs documents, a proprietor of McFee & Newton Towing at 14 King St. asked Officer Fiske for his help in getting a woman who had written the tow company a bad check to pay up. McFee & Newton is the tow company the town uses exclusively. During the internal affairs investigation, Officer Fiske told supervisors the tow company proprietor was his friend.

Officer Fiske said he agreed to help his friend recoup the more than $250 and he told dispatch to classify the incident as "aid to the public." A dispatcher who had been told about the incident changed the status to "larceny." A supervisor sent Officer Fiske an email directing him to write a report and seek criminal complaints against the suspect.

"I'll admit because he's my friend I said I would do whatever I could to help him," Officer Fiske told his supervisor. He said that when he called the woman, she told him she had been in contact with the tow company and they were working on a payment plan.

When the supervisor returned to work six days later, he noticed that the incident had been changed from "larceny" back to "aid to the public." There was no written report and no criminal charges had been filed.

According to the internal affairs documents, Officer Fiske admitted that he had accessed the computer to change the status of the incident. He also acknowledged that this was not the first time he had changed a report in the computer system.

"Officer Fiske effectively took on the role of a collection agency on behalf of an acquaintance, thus providing special privileges to" the tow company proprietor, the sergeant wrote in his summary of findings. He went on to say that Officer Fiske exceeded his lawful authority as a police officer.

"It is the role of the court to order restitution, not the police, and in doing so officer denies the defendant the right to due process and jeopardizes the ability of future prosecution."

Chief Leahy said Officer Fiske received a two-day suspension without pay for the violations.

In 2009, he was investigated for violations of police regulations, including insubordination for making comments critical of supervisory and administrative personnel.

He was the subject of another investigation alleging insubordination and disrespect in 2010.

During that internal affairs hearing, Officer Fiske acknowledged that he was "unprofessional" in the way he had responded to two superior officers who reported the insubordination. He further acknowledged that he had allowed a personality conflict between him and one of the officers to "fester" instead of addressing the issue with him in a timely manner.

"Mr. Fiske also acknowledged that he is aware the he tends to react aggressively and defensively and comes out swinging when he feels confronted or challenged professionally," according to the internal affairs documents.

The confrontation occurred when Officer Fiske was questioned about failing to do some house checks he had been assigned to do. A sergeant whose name was among several items redacted from the documents wrote Chief Leahy that Officer Fiske responded in one-word answers and gave the impression that he was upset because he was being questioned.

"His face was beet red. His lips were dry and he was leaning forward in his chair and he appeared very agitated and angry. He did not at any time give the impression that he had done anything wrong," the officer wrote. The sergeant wrote that the way Officer Fiske responded to the other officer is the way he responded to him when he issued reprimands.

"One of the last reprimands he received from me he had made a comment that he was going to explode," the sergeant wrote. "At the end of that meeting I offered him (the Employee Assistance Program), which he declined. He told me he was already seeking counseling for issues that he was dealing with."

During the internal affairs hearing regarding Officer Fiske's failure to do house checks, Officer Fiske told the sergeant "the supervisors in this place need to earn my respect."

Chief Leahy said Wednesday that Officer Fiske didn't have issues with the public, but he seemed to have problems with everybody in the department because he didn't like to be told what to do. He said supervisors and others worked extensively to try to get him to work in a more cooperative manner. He had been counseled for several things and received written reprimands. The most significant discipline was the two-day suspension without pay.

Chief Leahy said that while he believes in progressive discipline, Officer Fiske was headed down the path to being fired.

"With (union contracts) it has to be done slow and methodically. With the theft (of the union funds) he took a giant leap in that direction," he said.